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Legal Research Scavenger
Hunt Workbook
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
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Legal Research Scavenger
Hunt Workbook
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
Dianna L. Noyes
Carolina Academic Press
Durham, North Carolina
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Copyright © 2009
Dianna L. Noyes
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Noyes, Dianna L.
Legal Research Scavenger Hunt Workbook : South Central Region / Dianna L. Noyes.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59460-574-1 (alk. paper)
1. Legal research--United States--Miscellanea. 2. Legal research--United States--Handbooks, manuals, etc. I.
Title.
KF240.N697 2009
340.072'073--dc22
2009006701
Carolina Academic Press
700 Kent Street
Durham, North Carolina 27701
Telephone (919) 489-7486
Fax (919) 493-5668
www.cap-press.com
Printed in the United States of America
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Contents
Introduction
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Chapter One
Legal Research — Citations (General)
Exercise 1.1
Legal Research — Citations (Federal Cases)
Exercise 1.2
Legal Research — Citations (Federal Cases)
Exercise 1.3
Constitutional Issues
Exercise 1.4
Supreme Court Justice Scavenger Hunt
Exercise 1.5
Legal Research — Citations (State Cases)
Exercise 1.6
3
7
9
11
15
23
Chapter Two
American Jurisprudence 2d General Index
Exercise 2.1
American Jurisprudence 2d
Exercise 2.2
United States Supreme Court Digest (West)
Exercise 2.3
United States Code Annotated General Index
Exercise 2.4
United States Code — Title 50 General Index
Exercise 2.5
25
27
31
33
37
Chapter Three
Tertiary Legal Resources
Exercise 3.1
Looseleaf/Formbook Research
Exercise 3.2
Law Textbook Research
Exercise 3.3
Law Review
Exercise 3.4
Tertiary Resources Research
Exercise 3.5
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41
45
49
53
Chapter Four
Black’s Law Dictionary
Exercise 4.1
Texts and Treatises
Exercise 4.2
Corpus Secundum
Exercise 4.3
United States Code Annotated General Index
Exercise 4.4
57
59
61
65
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CONTENTS
Chapter Five
American Law Reports (ALR5th)
Exercise 5.1
Chapter Six
Basic Internet Research
Exercise 6.1
Online Research
Exercise 6.2
U.S. Government Research
Exercise 6.3
Social Security Administration
Exercise 6.4
Environmental Protection Agency
Exercise 6.5
Department of Labor
Exercise 6.6
Department of Justice
Exercise 6.7
Chapter Seven
Case Law — Federal Supplement
Exercise 7.1
Case Law — Supreme Court Reporter
Exercise 7.2
Chapter Eight
Statute and Legislative Research
Exercise 8.1
Chapter Nine
Administrative Law Research
Exercise 9.1
Administrative Procedures Act Research
Exercise 9.2
Chapter Ten
Shepards’ Research
Exercise 10.1
Shepards’ Research
Exercise 10.2
Shepards’ Research
Exercise 10.3
Shepards’ Research
Exercise 10.4
Chapter Eleven
Writing (Memorandum) Assignment
Writing Assignment #1
Writing Assignment #2
Writing Assignment #3
Writing Assignment #4
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73
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81
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85
87
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107
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119
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131
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CONTENTS
Chapter Twelve
Arkansas Statute — Scavenger Hunt
Arkansas Case Law — Scavenger Hunt
Louisiana Statute — Scavenger Hunt
Louisiana Case Law — Scavenger Hunt
Oklahoma Statute — Scavenger Hunt
Oklahoma Case Law — Scavenger Hunt
Texas Statute — Scavenger Hunt
Texas Case Law — Scavenger Hunt
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141
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165
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Introduction
Legal Research Scavenger Hunt Workbook: South Central Region was created to be a companion to the many research books available to paralegal students. The book contains a series of exercises that increase the students’
knowledge of the types of resources, their research skills, and their capabilities. Before beginning the assignments
in the successive chapters, please review the current research text or the text that was used previously in a basic
research course. It is important that students have a foundation on which to build in these assignments.
Chapters One through Ten contain exercises from the many different types of legal resources with which
students must be familiar to work in the legal environment. The chapters contain one or more assignments
regarding various research topics and resources so that the instructor can tailor the course to the course’s primary text, style, format, and/or syllabus. Most of these exercises require the student to use the library for locating the resources required so they can answer the questions in each section. This workbook is written so
that the student will have more “hands-on” time with the written legal works. The instructor will provide
specifics as to which assignments may be completed using legal proprietary search engines and which must be
done by visiting the library.
Chapters Six and Nine provide the student with specific exercises for various types of online research, both
free and proprietary.
Chapter Eleven contains five legal memoranda assignments. The students will prepare one or more, at the
direction of the instructor. These assignments require the students to use the knowledge and skills acquired
in completing the exercises in the previous chapters as well as in the primary textbook. Students will prepare
the memoranda according to the scenarios provided in the chapter, which are based on different types of law.
They will need to research the numerous issues in each scenario and then write a memorandum to the attorney (instructor). The memorandum must contain citations for the case law, statutes, rules, and/or regulations
that the student has located regarding the various legal issues and topics.
Chapter Twelve contains state specific modules. This chapter consists of a series of exercises for state statutes,
codes, regulations, court rules, and case law by region. This workbook contains the South Central region as
identified by the American Association for Paralegal Education. The region contains Arkansas, Louisiana,
Oklahoma, and Texas.
The citations provided are consistent with Bluebook style. The instructor will advise the students which citation style manual should be used for this workbook so that it is consistent with the requirements of the
school, the local court rule, and/or the primary textbook used by the student.
Students, I hope you enjoy the assignments and exercises in this workbook. They are meant to challenge,
hone your research skills, and assist you in becoming more familiar with the numerous legal resources and
how to use them efficiently and effectively.
About the Series
This regional workbook series provides practical assignments on both the federal and state levels to complement most research books on the market. Each workbook begins with a federal section with exercises that
give students practice researching cases, statutes, regulations, and procedures. The second part of each workbook will feature state-specific exercises for that region. For example, the South Central Region will include
state-specific exercises for Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. State exercises include those on statutes,
codes, regulations, court rules, and case law for each state.
The regional divisions correspond with the states represented by AAfPE regions — North Central, Pacific,
South Central, Northeast and Southeast.
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